Denver Site Development Review Process

Denver site development review runs in three stages: a mandatory concept plan, a formal Site Development Plan (SDP) reviewed by every city agency with a stake in the site, and final signatures and recording. It covers new commercial buildings, major additions and new buildings with three or more residential units. The SDP is often held until related applications clear, so file those early.

What is a site development plan in Denver?

An SDP is the plan set that shows how a private development meets the Denver Zoning Code. Once approved, it is recorded against the property and becomes the basis for the zoning and construction permits.

Denver's Site Development Plan Manual (Denver Permitting Office, revised April 29, 2026) says the SDP is generally not reviewed for engineering details, construction methods or right-of-way design. It also warns that an overly detailed SDP limits your freedom to change the design later. Show the minimum needed to prove compliance.

Which projects need site development plan review in Denver?

New commercial construction and major additions, new construction of three or more residential units, and some tenant finish or remodel projects that change the occupancy. Large sites can face an extra step first.

Those triggers come from the city's site development plan page. Every rezoning, subdivision or SDP application also prompts staff to consider Large Development Review under Denver Zoning Code Section 12.4.12.2. Denver's Large Development Review criteria include a site over five acres or three blocks, or one needing major infrastructure such as changes to the arterial or collector street grid or the regional stormwater system. If your site is close, ask your project coordinator before you draw a concept.

What happens at the concept plan stage?

You submit a concept, staff from several city departments review it together, and you get one set of coordinated comments. The manual says every project subject to SDP review must complete this step, and calls it a free service.

Denver's concept plan page says the phase is one review cycle, with no more than three if the applicant asks for more certainty. A Project Champion from Site Design and Neighborhood staff schedules a concept meeting. Use the Concept Submittal Checklist on that page.

This is where problems cost the least to fix. The city flags green building requirements for projects over 25,000 square feet of gross floor area, right-of-way vacations, urban design standards and the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan due with the formal SDP. On parking, Denver's modernized parking rules removed minimum car parking for new buildings on August 11, 2025. Accessible spaces are still required.

What goes into a formal SDP submittal?

The formal SDP is the first technical submittal: one consolidated PDF plan set, a letter of introduction noting changes since the concept, and responses to comments. You file it through E-permits once you are cleared from concept. The city's formal SDP page adds items for the initial submittal when review comments call for them, such as the Green Building Declaration Form.

The standard sheets are the cover sheet, survey, site plan, grading plan, utility plan, fire sheet (for two or more primary buildings), landscape plan, floorplans, roof plan, building elevations and photometric plan, plus a zone lot amendment sheet and site details where needed. The manual says to leave out color, engineering-level details such as retaining wall sections, bid notes like "contractor to verify," and labels such as "new" or "existing to remain." Where there is a Transportation Engineering Plan (TEP), right-of-way work on the SDP is illustrative and the TEP governs.

The same page says plans without a full response to every comment are returned unreviewed. Your project coordinator sends one comment letter after every agency finishes, and nothing new is accepted mid-review. Review fees are assessed with the first comments and paid before the next submission. The manual says most SDPs need at least four rounds.

Which related applications must clear before Denver approves the SDP?

Several, mostly separate applications; your review comments say which apply. The city says an SDP is not approved until the related entitlements are approved, so file them on the manual's deadlines.

• By the initial submittal: the TDM plan, an Affordable Housing Plan for 10 or more dwelling units, the Denver Water plan, and any subdivision, zone lot amendment to separate lots, urban design review or Landmark Phase I.
• By the second submittal: the TEP, Storm and Sanitary Plan Review (SSPR), the Construction Activities Stormwater Discharge Permit (CASDP), Address Assignment, the right-of-way encroachment tier determination, right-of-way dedications and vacations, and easement conveyances and relinquishments.

Watch two traps. Addresses cannot be issued while a subdivision is in progress, which can stall your building permit submittal. And if a building sits in the regulatory floodplain or any work is in the floodway, the Sewer Use and Drainage Permit is due by 60 percent design.

How does the SDP get approved and recorded?

After the last comments clear, you pay the recording and Zoning Permit fees, the owners sign, and the city signs and records the plan. The Zoning Permit issues automatically on payment.

The final SDP carries notarized digital signatures from all property owners and a surveyor's stamp on the cover and survey sheets. The SDP is approved when the project coordinator and the Planning Manager sign it, and staff send it to the Clerk and Recorder electronically.

Building permit review can also run alongside the SDP if your coordinator allows it, under the conditions in the FAQ below. Building permits must match the approved SDP before construction.

How long does an approved Denver SDP stay valid?

Thirty months for SDPs approved on or after January 1, 2026. SDPs approved on or before December 31, 2025 now have 66 months under Denver Zoning Code Section 12.4.3.6.C.1.

Under that section, the SDP expires at the end of its period, with no extension, unless the project has its zoning and building permits and has started construction. The city's site development plan page adds that the building permit application, the "LOG" record, has its own clock: it expires if review sits idle more than 180 days, and the SDP extension does not extend it.

Is your project ready for a formal SDP submittal?

It is ready when every answer below is yes. Each no is a likely comment or a hold on approval.

1. Has the concept plan cleared, with every concept comment answered?
2. Has your coordinator confirmed whether Large Development Review applies?
3. Are the TDM plan, the Denver Water plan and any Affordable Housing Plan filed?
4. Are any subdivision, zone lot, urban design or Landmark applications filed?
5. Is the drainage and sanitary approach settled enough to file SSPR by the second submittal?
6. Do you know whether any building sits in the regulatory floodplain?

Then ask your civil engineer who owns each related application and its deadline. For developers and builders still buying land, these questions belong in a site feasibility study before the concept goes in.

This is a general guide to the City and County of Denver's process as published in 2026. The manual says staff direction supersedes it, so confirm current requirements with your project coordinator. Neighboring cities and counties run their own reviews.

Frequently asked questions

Is a concept plan required in Denver?

Yes, for every project subject to SDP review. The manual calls it a free service. Expect one review cycle, or up to three if you ask.

How long does SDP review take in Denver?

The manual sets no fixed duration. It says most SDPs need at least four review rounds and points to the city's Review Times Dashboard for current figures.

Does an approved SDP let me start construction?

Not by itself. Construction needs building permits that match the approved SDP, plus related permits such as the CASDP for construction stormwater.

I'm developing a 40-unit apartment building in Denver and want building permits fast. Can my architect submit the building set before the SDP is approved?

Possibly. Your coordinator may allow concurrent review once addresses are assigned, Building and Fire have approved the SDP, any subdivision is complete and other comments are unlikely to change the building plans. You carry the rework risk if the SDP changes. At 40 units you also need an Affordable Housing Plan with the initial submittal.

I'm a civil engineer in Colorado preparing my first Denver SDP. How much detail should my grading and utility sheets show?

The minimum needed to prove compliance. Show existing and finished one-foot contours, spot elevations, drainage, detention and water quality facilities, service lines, meters and hydrants. Storm and sanitary design goes through SSPR, and final right-of-way design through the TEP where there is one.

I own a Denver lot with an SDP approved in 2024, and our financing slipped. Has my approval expired?

Maybe not. SDPs approved on or before December 31, 2025 now have 66 months from approval, and the city says some expired plans are valid again. Confirm your date with Denver Development Services.

Related resources

• First Steps to Getting Your Project Approved with Denver Water
• Storm and Sanitary Sewer Permitting for Colorado Developments
• Adams County Project Review Process
• What a Utility Feasibility Study Actually Tells You, and When to Get One

Getting a Denver site plan through review?

MES provides site civil engineering for land development in Colorado from our Golden office, from the first concept through the grading, utility and drainage sheets a Denver SDP needs.

Modern Engineering Solutions, McKinney, Texas, with offices in Golden, Colorado and San Jose, California. (214) 833-6748.

Talk with an engineer about your Denver site